


Strange Tides & Troubled Waters

by Violet_showstopper



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mermaid Lovino, Mermaids, Partners to Lovers, Pining, Pirate AU, Pirate England (Hetalia), Pirate Fighting, Pirates, god I wanna kiss Lovino, mermaid au, probably, they r gay, uh uh uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-02-07 04:56:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18613597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_showstopper/pseuds/Violet_showstopper
Summary: Captain Kirkland has spent years upon the ocean, exploring and conquering, doing what he wants when he wants. When he becomes the first person to see a mermaid, however, things change. Especially when that mermaid asks him for help finding an elusive herb.Lovino's brother has been suffering with a mysterious illness for three years now- barely able to catch his breath, unable to move from his shell of a bed for more than ten minutes. And Lovino will do anything to help him- even if that includes reaching out to forces above water.





	1. Wait For Me

The water around Lovino was warm. The fall chill had not yet settled into the ocean waters- warm light still soaking through the waves and into the shallow currents. The water pulsed subtly with waves, seaweed swaying like it was waving at him. 

That was, until Lovino reached down and dragged an handful of the seaweed from the sand. 

Despite it being such a nice turn of weather- especially for this time of year, Lovino was unhappy. No, not unhappy. He was distressed. Yes. That was the word. Other Mer would say that Lovino was always upset in some way shape or form, but this was  _different._ He blew out a puff of air bubbles at the thought. His brother was dying. He had every right to be upset, distressed,  _whatever!_

Lovino pulled another handful of seaweed. It had been three years since Feliciano contracted this...disease. Merpeople tend to have very strong immune systems, so it was a surprise to the whole pod when Feliciano suddenly was having a hard time keeping up with the pod.  Well, he was having a hard time doing most things. Breathing, especially, seemed to be the biggest inhibitor to his brother's health. 

The pod had stuck around for a week before leaving Feliciano- and by extention, Lovino- behind. 

Lovino couldn't blame them. 

The clumps of seaweed were slimy in his hands as he made his way back to the little cave that him and his brother had come to call their home. It was anxiety inducing at first, being alone and without the protection of the group. But they had figured something out. Lovino often had to leave to get food, or medicines for Feli, but never went far enough away that he couldn't see their cave. 

"Feli?" He called, dipping out of the warm sunny waters and into the cold dark of the cave. Feli lay right where he'd been left- hovering over the little makeshift nest. It looked like he hadn't moved the entire time Lovino had been out. 

"I brought you some seaweed. For your lungs." Lovi swam over, watching his brother slowly blink open his eyes. The sight was hard to see. Feli barely really spoke anymore- it took too much out of him. The once lively, talkative Mer was now condemmed near silence. Still, he reached out and took the plant from Lovino's hands and began to eat. 

Lovino moved to the other side of the cave, where his own little nest lay. He hadn't been able to catch any food while he was out, leaving him hungry. But he could hunt later. 

"Feli..." he said softly, and his brother looked up at him, with a mouthful of seaweed. The image could have been humourus, if not for the circumstances. 

"I was thinking," he began tentively. "about going out and finding a medic for you."

Feli looked at him from across the cave in silence. His big, dark eyes stared at him in a look between alarm and concen. His hair swirled around him- if they were outside, Lovi knew it would give him a golden red halo. 

"No." Feli said, the word accompanied by a slow intake of breath beforehand. Just the one word seemed too much for Feli, and Lovino flinched slighty. 

"I know you wouldn't be able to make the trip. I just want to find another pod...see if they can spare their medic."

His brother opened his mouth as if he would say something else, but Lovi didn't let him finish- shaking his head. 

"We can't keep living here without a cure. I want you to get better. I can't watch you..." 

The word  _die_ floated inbetween them, unsaid. Yes, they both knew Feliciano would likely die without a cure. He was getting weaker and weaker by the day. Despite that, the older sibling knew that Feliciano would rather die then spend a day or so alone in this cave. Something about it frightened him, Lovino knew. But what had to be done, had to be done, unfortunately. 

"You'll only be alone for a few hours- a day at most." 

Feli was shaking his head, and Lovino could see the desperation in his eyes. Though he didn't say it. 

 _A mermaid alone is mer-made a meal._ Their father's playful voice echo'd in his ears. They both knew the risks. 

"I'm going to leave tonight, if you like it or not, alright?" And that was the end of the conversation. 

 

~~

 

Lovino spent the rest of that day going out and catching fish for his brother while he was gone. He didn't know how long he would be gone exactly, but he hoped it would be enough for at least a few days. When night fell, he patiently waited for Feliciano to slip away into sleep before heading off into the night waters. 

Traveling at night had always felt better for Lovino. While he had less vision, all predators were fast asleep, or too tired to give chase if they saw him. And his tail was better cover at night anyways- the scales around his waist were a light blue, and as they went down, they morphed into a deep blue, almost black. The scales peppered around his face and arms were the same deep blue.  He knew it wasn't perfect camo, but it was better than nothing. 

Swiftly, Lovino moved through the waves with his nose turned to the current. He knew there were other Merpeople around- of course there were, with this envionment- but he didn't know where. His mouth opened, tasting the water for the scents of other Merpeople. Finally, he caught something. The scent of a pod. They seemed to have stopped for the night, which was very exiting for Lovino. With a strong thrust of his tail, he shot through the waters towards it. 

He came across the pod in the early hours of the morning, with the sun blazing over the water and shining down on them. They seemed to be just waking up, streching and chatting amongst themselves. There were around twenty Merpeople in the pod- including a few  guppies. It made him want for his own pod. Only briefly, though. 

"Hey!" Lovino called out to them, catching their attention. Lovino could see them immedietly go on guard- which he expected. They didn't know what he wanted. 

"Whats your buisness here?" One of them spoke, seemingly the leader. Her blonde hair floated loosely around her, and Lovino felt the need to dip his head. But he didn't. 

"I'm looking for a medic." He said shortly. There was no need to include the pod-abandonment. Not yet, at least. Mers abandoned by their pods were often looked down on by others, and he really didn't need that. "My brother is sick. We don't know what's wrong with him." 

"And you want us to spare  _our_ medic?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him. He gritted his teeth at the look. Not only did he not like that look, he didn't feel like he deserved it. 

"Just so we know whats wrong with him." He said quickly. "Nothing big." 

"And what's wrong with your medic?" 

Ah, the dreaded question. Lovino frowned, looking away. He did not answer. 

At his silence, he heard some whispering amoung the pod. Though he couldn't hear them, he could assume what they were saying- about what to do with him, and probably calling him names. Finally, the leader spoke up again. 

"Do you have a pod?" She asked. 

"No. Just me and my brother. He's really sick, I-" 

"How far away is he now?" 

Lovino blinked in surprise at the question. "Um. Around ten blue-lengths to the North..." 

The leader sighed, looking at him for a long moment. "Then it's decided. The medic will come look at your brother. But we will all come with him." 

Lovino's eyes widened. That was almost better than what he had asked for. He nodded quickly. "Okay. Yeah, um. Follow me, then." 

And off they went. 

 

~~

 

Lovino returned to his brother anxiously chewing through one of the fish. Upon seeing his brother and a whole  _pod_ of Merpeople, Lovino could see his brother's eyes light up estatically. 

That estatacism didn't last long, however. After one look at the diseased Merman, he shook his head slowly. 

"I'm sorry, Lovino..." he said, obviously speaking carefully. "I've seen this disease before, it's..." he was hesitating, and Lovino pushed towards him. 

"It's what?" 

"...Virtually incurable. I've only seen it once before, and-" 

"Did you cure it?" 

"No...My sucessor cured it in her time, but...you need something from," the medic hesitated, looking down at Feli as he followed the conversation with his eyes. "...you know...The topside..." 

Lovino blinked. The only thing that would keep his brother alive was a plant from on land. 

"What's it look like?" 

"...You can't expect to find it, you can't-" 

"What does it  _look like._ " 

 

~~

 

With a promise from the leader - Lovino found her name was Maria - that the pod wouldn't leave Feli until Lovi came back, Lovino set off on a quest to find the plant. But first: he needed some help from a human. Something Merpeople almost never did. But at this point, it seemed as though he had no choice. So he moved up and through the water, to where he often spotted the wooden bottoms of boats cutting through the water like a knife. 

Breaking the surface for the first time was both thrilling and extremely terrifying- the sun was hotter than he expected it to be. The waves moved more on top as well, dunking him under every few moments. There was a vast quiet though, and nothing for miles. At least, he thought that. Until he spotted a tall, looming boat in the distance. 

And he was off. 

Reaching the boat cased a bolt of excitement to shoot through him. There was fear too of course- of getting harmed by the humans. Old horror stories his father would tell him about harpoons and Mermaid-scale boots, and...

He was scaring himself. 

As the boat bobbed closer to him, he dipped more under the water, staring up at it with wonder in his eyes. Slowly, it began to move past him, casting a cool shadow over him. 

Then there was movement. And over the railing of the boat, leaned a man. 

A blonde man, with a ridiculous hat ontop of his head. The coat he wore was an angry red, the edges ripped and holed. His hands gripped the railing as he looked over the open ocean. A large grin was plastered on his face, and Lovino was shocked at the dullness of his teeth. 

Then the man looked down, and caught him in the most stunning green gaze he'd ever seen in his life.

Before then, Lovino thought green eyes were a myth. 

He was glad they weren't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blue-length: the length of a great blue wale
> 
> comments > kudos!!  
> i love hearing what you guys have to say uwu


	2. When The Chips Are Down

Arthur Kirkland prided himself on being a very sensible man. 

He ran his ship with a heavy hand and a level head. His crewmembers respected him and his leadership. He never believed in stories of supernatural life at sea. He'd never seen something like that before, and as someone who basically  _lived_ on the ocean, that basially proved it. 

That was, until, he met eyes with a man with a fish tail. 

Immedietly, he didn't believe his own eyes. He blinked a few times, wishing for the image to dissapear. Maybe he'd spent too much time in the sun? Yet, the man didn't disappear. 

And neither did the long, dark blue tail curling underneath him and into the water. 

If it wasn't for the tail, Arthur would have thought him to be a man thrown overboard. By the man's skin color and looks- he would have thought maybe one of Antonio's crewmates. Dark, curling red hair and dark, seal-like eyes. His torso was bare, which showed off scales and freckles peppered over his chest, shoulders, and face. His neck was adorned with gills as well.

He was beautiful. In a strange, otherwordly way. 

Caught in a trance, he couldn't say anything. Until the man...er..mermaid? Let out a series of clicking and almost barking noises. The kind he'd heard some dolphins make. It was obvious he was trying to talk, but Arthur couldn't understand a word of it. 

"Um...Sorry there, lad. I can't understand you." He said hesitantly. He was talking to a  _mermaid._ Something he really thought didn't exist until then. He felt like he needed to sit down. 

The mermaid screwed up his face at him, and clicked at him again, slower this time. Arthur snorted and shook his head, pointing at his own ears. "I don't speak the language." 

The mermaid stared at him for a second, then scowled and dissapeared under the water. For a while Arthur stood, staring into the water before huffing. Right good luck that was. He comes across a mermaid and he pisses it off because he cant speak  _ocean._

Right when he was about to turn tail and get back to his duties, the creature popped up again, looking more upset then when he dissapeared. With a webbed hand, he waved at Arthur in a beckoning way. 

A frown crossed Arthur's own face. If stories of mermaids were true, then so were the tales of them being blood-thirsty and ruthless killers. Luring men to their deaths. But wasn't that usually lady mermaids? And unless he was making assumtions, this was no lady.

The mermaid beconed him faster, other hand reaching up for him. 

Besides- those types of mermaids only showed in the form of someone the victim would be attracted to. 

Arthur groaned and kneeled down, reaching through the bars and towards the mermaid. 

Before he could even see it coming, the mermaid moved fast- swiping a sharp piece of shell over his own hand, then Arthur's, and he grabbed his hand.

Arthur hissed in pain, jerking back, but the mermaid didn't let go. Instead, he was blabbering to Arthur in that language he couldn't understand. That only got more frustrating, until suddenly the clicks and barks became clearer and clearer, until it sounded like English.

"-if this shit doesn't work I'm gonna be so  _mad,_ getting human blood in my own goddamn veins, if this was just a myth I'm going to throw a fucking fit." 

Vulgar mouth for such a pretty creature. 

Finally, Arthur slipped out of the mermaid's grip, gritting his teeth together at the cut across his hand. As he watched, the wound pulsed a light blue and began to heal itself, stitching itself together.

"What did you do to me?!" He demanded at the creature, holding his formerly wounded hand close to his chest. His yell had alerted a few crewmembers, who gathered to make sure he was okay, then marvled at the creature in the water.

"Don't worry, legs. You've just got some more mermaid in you then you did this morning," he said, and despite him having next to no pupil, Arthur could tell the mermaid had rolled his eyes at him. 

"How much?!" 

"Just blood, stupid! You can understand me now. DNA mixing or something. I don't know, I'm not a fucking expert." 

Once again, the mermaid proved himself to be very crass. He crossed tanned arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes up at Arthur. Arthur hadn't expected to be scrutinized like this. He was hoping this would pan out like in the stories- a mermaid offering him some kind of prize for completing a task. Not being attacked, then called stupid within a minute of meetingg the mermaid. 

If he wanted that, he would have just saught out Toni again.

"What do you want?" Arthur shot down at the creature. 

"I need your help." He said, in a bregruding manner which Arthur didn't expect nor want. 

"Why should I help you?  You attacked me." 

"I did not  _attack_ you. I was helping you 'speak the language'. Try to be a little greatful, eh?" 

Was-  _gateful?_ Nobody speaks to Captain Kirkland like that. Arthur scowled down at him. 

"I will not be helping you. Now scram before I catch you in a net and scale you alive." 

The mermaid grumbled, sinking down under the water until only his eyes showed. He didn't move, though. 

"What did I say?" The frustration was building in him, and he withdrew his sword, pointing it at the creature. His crew woop'd around him. " _Scram!"_

"My brother is dying." The mermaid said, coming up over the water a little so he coould speak. "He needs an herb that only grows on land. I need help." 

Arthur's lips pressed into a thin line as he looked at the mermaid. He seemed sincere. The creature looked away, the tips of his ears turning pink. 

"...and I don't want to have to try a different boat. Someone might actually scale me." 

Arthur rolled his eyes. He had no reason to trust this creature. He could be lying, or trying to get Arthur to help him perform something bad. This certainly wasn't a human, and...The mermaid looked at him, the frown no longer on his features. 

"Please." 

Arthur huffed. "What do I get in return?" 

"I'll tell you about mermaid stuff. You can write it all in a little book and sell it if you like. Whatever. I just want to save my brother." 

Arthur huffed and slid his sword back into the sheath. That was a tempting offer. A  _very_ tempting offer. 

"Sam! Bring over a rope. We need to pull this thing in." 

~~

After some arguing between Arthur, the mermaid, and some of the crewmates, the creature- who introduced himself as Lovino- was settled into a big barrel they filled with seawater. Arthur could tell that the other felt cramped in it, but it was the best that they could do. They weren't going to go all the way into a port to buy a tank. 

"Comfy?" Arthur said teasingly, watching Lovino squirm around in the barrel. He was trying to situate himself so most of him was still submurged in the water. It was thrilling for Arthur to hear that mermaids don't just have gills on their necks- but on the sides of their stomachs too! He was itching to draw out Lovino's anatomy. 

"Fuck you," Lovino hissed. Arthur was still surprised every time Lovino swore at him. Pleasantly surprised, of course. He didn't know  _how_ the swears translated from the ocean...noises...into English, but it was impressive anyways. 

"No, thank you. I don't go for...Fish." 

The mermaid bared his teeth at him- a solid row of sharp chompers.

"I am not a  _fish._ I eat fish. Fish like you." Arthur could try he was trying to be scary. 

It wasn't working. 

"Sure," Arthur waved a hand dismissively, which Lovino frowned at. "about this herb you need to find.."

"It's called black haw," Lovino cut in before Arthur could finish. "I was told it grows on an island a few days east of here. Do you have a map?"

Arthur found himself frowning. It was like this  _thing_ didn't respect his authority! 

"Of course I have a bloody map," he grumbled, rooting around in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a rolled map. 

"Map of the ocean from Spain to Mexico." 

The mermaid gave him a sidelong glance. Obviously he didn't know what he was talking about. 

 _Good._ He thought to himself with a sliver of satisfaction. 

"Let me see it." 

The satisfaction dissapated. He plopped the map into the mermaid's hand. 

Arthur watched as he unravled the map (with his damp hands- God the ink is going to smear!) and squinted at it. 

"Hm. Should be right here." The creature pointed to an empty patch of ocean. 

"There's no island there," Arthur snorted, snatching the map back before water could seep into the paper even more. 

"There has to be. Tell your...guys to sail west." 

He found himself scowling again. 

Since when did he take orders from a fish?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments > kudos 
> 
> arthur is so fucking gay.....also I really am just pumping out these chapters


	3. Papers

"Are you comfortable?" Lovino scrunched up his face at Arthur's voice and the noise of the captain's shoes coming towards him. He twisted around in the skinny barrel to send a glare at the pirate. It had been three days since Lovino got pulled up onto the ship and dropped into the barrel. Three days of restlessness and next to no privacy. He couldn't even slide down further into the barrel and hide from prying eyes of the crewmembers. He was very uncomfortable, and by the glint in Arthur’s eyes, the pirate knew that. 

“Fuck no,” he snipped, baring his sharp teeth at Arthur threateningly. Arthur didn’t seem to be affected by it, which just got under Lovino’s scales more. It was so frustrating, being out of his depths (literally) and around someone who wouldn’t take him seriously.

“Sorry.”

“If you were sorry you’d let me swim. I can just lead.” Lovino sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He glared at Arthur, and the pirate simply shifted his weight. 

“Oh, but how would I talk to you, then?” Arthur responded cheekily, and Lovino huffed, looking away. He didn’t know how to respond to that, really. 

“Whatever. Idiot. Do you know how close we are?” He asked, running his webbed hands over the top of the water. 

“A few days out. Maybe a bit more.” 

“Well, can we go any faster?” He snipped, voice catching that seal-like snark.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “No. We might actually have to set the furl the mainsail for a bit.”

Lovino could feel himself bristling. “Why?!” 

“Red sky this morning, and there are some storm clouds rolling in. We don’t want to take a chance against a storm. Your herb ain’t worth meeting the Flying Dutchman over.” 

Arthur said, moving past Lovino’s barrel to look over the railing of the ship, out across the ocean. Lovino had noticed the chill settling over the boat- the sun had been covered by a group of angry, rolling clouds. 

“The who-” 

He didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence, as that’s when the sky split open with a crack of thunder and sheets of rain began to fall from the sky. In the same moment, the crew broke into busy activity that Lovino had yet to see of the crew. As did their Captain, breaking away from the railing and bustling about, shouting commands over the roar of the rain. 

Not only did the rain pick up, as did the winds, howling across the top of the ship. The ship began to rock from the winds and the waves beating at the side of the ship.

Lovino dug his nails into his barrel, flinching at every heavy raindrop that hit his eyes. His eyes tracked the movement around the boat, wanting badly to twist his body into the safety of the ocean, despite how the waves splashed on deck. 

Arthur’s form rushed about the deck, barking orders with the authority of a man who was not to be tested. The rain stuck his clothes to his skin, green gaze flying across the deck. His crew bent to the gesture of his hand, the bark of his command. 

It was incredible.

Another crack of thunder rattled Lovino to his bones. Distantly, he heard Arthur bark an order and his barrel was being lifted by two men. For a moment, he hoped he was being tossed back into the ocean. But instead, he was being carried  _ into  _ the ship. The exact opposite of what he wanted. The crewmembers ignored his protests, and he was put down heavily into a small room.

The door closed heavily behind him. 

How long he was left in that room by himself, he was unsure. The storm raged outside, and he was left with this small, dimly lit cabin. What he assumed to be a bed was pushed into the corner, and across from it was a desk. Judging by the maps unfurled on said desk, he guessed at this being Arthur’s room. He huffed. 

The door flew open suddenly, Arthur in the frame. He closed it behind himself, and there he stood.

Drenched to the bone.

It would have made Lovino laugh, if he weren’t so pissed off. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you, huh? Trapping me in here, you stupid human. You could have thrown me back into the oce-!” 

“Can it.” Arthur snipped. He shrugged off his red jacket and hat, hanging them up on a nail sticking out of the wall, leaving him in a soaked white shirt. A frown crossed his features. 

“Don’t you tell me what to do, eh? Who do you think you are!” 

“I said  _ shut up!”  _ Arthur raised his voice to a yell, making Lovino shrink down a bit. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew it wouldn’t be the best decision to make. 

The two sat in silence for a bit, Arthur taking a seat on his bed and rubbing his face.

After a long while, Arthur stood and crossed towards his desk. He opened the top drawer and pulled out...something that looked like a small clay pot with a long, skinny protruding end. He put the end in his mouth, and produced a box from the drawer Lovino watched, curious. Cautiously, he spoke.

“What is that?” 

“Huh?” 

“What is  _ that _ ?”

“A pipe, for tobacco.” Arthur raised an eyebrow, and Lovino had to stop himself from getting frustrated at the tone of voice the pirate was using with him. 

“Tobacco?” 

“Yeah. I smoke it- do you mind?” He pulled a little stick from the box.

Lovino scrunched his nose up, watching as Arthur flicked the stick against a part of the  box and the stick lit up bright orange. It moved like water, but upwards, flickering in the drafty room. He blinked in surprise and wonder, immediately leaning forward to get a better look. 

“You’ve never seen fire before?” The blonde asked, and Lovino shook his head. Sure, he’d heard of it in stories told by his father. But he’d never seen it. Without really thinking about it, he reached up with full intent to grab this fire from Arthur’s hand, to inspect it a bit closer. Arthur pulled it out of his reach, though. 

“Careful. It’s hot.” The pirate tilted the stick into his pipe, brown mist coming up out of it. He flicked the stick after, and the fire disappeared. 

“Is it like, magic?” Lovino asked, absolutely struck with awe. He had never seen anything like that, and he had his own experiences with magic. Just...nothing like this. It must be human magic. 

“No. I don’t really know how it works, lad. Fire can be dangerous, though. I’m the only one allowed to smoke on the ship.” 

Lovino nodded slowly. 

“My dad told my brother and I about fire once. He once watched a house get eaten by it. He said it was like a monster.” 

Arthur took a long breath from the end of the pipe, and a mist furled from his nose. 

“Yeah. Fire can be like a monster. But it’s also what keeps people warm in the winter, and it’s what lights up dark places.” 

“You need fire in the dark?” Lovino asked, tilting his head. 

“Mhm.” 

“I can just see in the dark. Older merfolk use light mareel when they’re losing their dark-vision.” 

“Light Mareel?” Arthur scooted back on his bed, back touching the wall. 

“It’s like...Glowing plankton. Tiny little fish, they’re kept in bottles weighed down. When it gets dark, you shake them.” 

Arthur nodded slowly. “Interesting...Do mermaids live in houses?” 

Lovi shook his head. “Most live in traveling pods. Sometimes, a pod will stay in a cave for a bit. Usually if someone is pregnant or sick…” 

“What’s your pod like?” 

The question made Lovino go quiet. He somehow hadn’t expected the question. He floundered. 

“Oh, um. I don’t have one. It’s just been me and my brother for a while now.” 

“What happened?” 

Lovino sunk his hands into the shallow water, looking down at it. 

“When my brother got sick...he was slowing everybody down and...We stayed in a cave for a week, but they all thought he was gonna die or get someone else sick. So they...” He made a vague hand motion. It was a hard story for him to tell. He didn’t expect a human to understand. 

“I’m sorry. That must be hard, being away from your family and all.” 

“Feli is the only family I have, as far as I’m concerned.”  

Arthur nodded, his head leaning back onto the wall. His eyes focused on the ceiling. 

“I know how that feels. My brothers don’t talk to me any longer….The ocean is the closest thing I have to family.” 

Like on a cue, the ship jolted to the side on behalf a particularly hard wave. The storm still roared on outside and Arthur laughed. 

“Well, maybe more like an angry lover.”

“A very angry lover…” Lovi responded with a chuckle. “Are you mated, Arthur?” A normal thing to ask for the Mer, but the reaction he got from his human companion told him that it wasn’t for humans. 

Arthur scowled. “No need to ask such a personal question, boy.” 

Lovi scowled right back. “It isn’t a personal question for  _ me.  _ Mer ask it all the time. Maybe humans are just stupid.” 

“Are not.” Arthur shook his head, scowling for a moment longer. “No, I’m not married. I’m married to my boat.” 

That sounded like an incredibly lonely existence to Lovino, but he wouldn’t press it. He wasn’t a pirate, after all. 

“Do other captains feel the same?” 

“I don’t know. I’ve only met a few others- Captain Bonnefoy, Captain Carriedo. And we don’t get along.” 

“What about the ship you mentioned earlier?” 

Arthur blinked at him, a confused look on his face before he connected the dots with a laugh. 

“The Flying Dutchman? No, she’s a ship I’d rather not run into. She’s the ghostly ship of an overconfident captain,and his crew whose ship was capsized,” Arthur took a breath of his pipe, ”The captain allegedly refused to dock the ship during a storm, damming their ship to the briny depths. They say that as the ship sunk beneath the waves, the captain swore that he would sail until doomsday. Ships that spot her are doomed to have bad luck.”

“Oh.” Lovino was disappointed by that, just the slightest. He’d heard stories of fights between pirates on the open ocean, he’d hoped the Flying Dutchman was something cool. “If it’s just a ghost, then why don’t you want to run into it? Ghosts aren’t real.” 

Arthur gave a mirthful laugh. 

“No, she’s very real. I’ve seen her with my own eyes.” At the obvious skepticism across Lovino’s face, he continued, 

“Three years ago is when I first purchased this very ship. I wasn’t new to pirating then, but I wasn’t used to such a big ship and such a big crew. I set out on my first voyage with optimism, thrilled to be out on the ocean in such a large vessel.

“A week out on the ocean, our ship was gripped by a terrible summer storm. For days, we suffered aboard this very ship to keep her afloat. We lost many a crewman to the jaws of the ocean, but that is by far not the worst thing that we saw during that storm. 

“I saw the Flying Dutchman at the worst of it. In the distance, a foggy glow getting closer and closer. And then, I saw her. The ship’s hull was riddled with tears and holes, her sails tattered and a blood red. Despite the storm around us, she cut through the waves with ease, headed dead towards us.” 

Lovino found himself shuddering, wind beating loudly against the ocean-side wall of the cabin. Arthur continued,

“She howled like a flock of demons- the cries of ghostly crewmen aboard. I ordered my men to move faster. I’ve never been more afraid in my life. All captains are warned about the Flying Dutchman, and I hadn’t taken them very seriously until then. The ship rocked around us, threatening to toss me and my crow overboard. We were all dead tired, but working like madmen. As the other crewmen spotted her, it’s fear that drove us. 

“We all knew the tale, we all knew that not many escape her grasp alive. We spotted land, and moved towards it quickly, with the ghost ship on our tail. She was close enough to smell- gunpowder and death. Then-” 

Lovino jumped as something beat against the door. Arthur’s halted his story and frowned, pulling himself from the bed and to the door. A crewman stood outside, whom Lovino recognized as the first mate. 

“The rain has stopped, captain. And the winds are slowing down. Should we hoist the main and foresail?”

Arthur shook his head. “Not yet. Just the jibsail for now.” 

The man nodded and scurried off, and Arthur stepped out onto the deck. The sun was shining again, although not as bright and warm as before. 

“...So? What happened next?” Lovino asked pointedly. 

“Ah.” Arthur turned around, leaning against the doorframe to face Lovino. “We managed to dock the ship, just as it looked like her bow was about to clip into our stern. As soon as we were in the port, she disappeared. The storm ebbed away soon after. We were lucky to escape with our lives.” 

Lovino nodded. He was glad that they hadn’t run into the ghost ship, though he wouldn’t admit it. 

He was glad the storm was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments > kudos


End file.
